Florida woman accused of killing dying husband may be granted bond, attorney says
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - New body camera video from Daytona Beach Police shows the moments officers found 76-year-old Ellen Gilland inside AdventHealth Hospital holding a gun pointed at the entrance of her husband’s hospital room.
You can hear officers pleading with Gilland to surrender just moments after she allegedly shot and killed her terminally ill 77-year-old husband, Jerry Gilland. One officer said, "Tell me what’s going on. We don’t want to hurt you."
According to Daytona Beach police, the couple made an agreement three weeks ago that if Jerry’s health took a turn for the worse, he wanted his wife to end it.
Gilland faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of aggressive assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, stemming from when she pointed her gun at staff members who had entered the hospital room after hearing a gunshot, according to the police report. She appeared before a judge in her first court appearance over the weekend where her bond was denied.
WATCH: Daytona Beach police repeatedly ask woman accused of shooting dying husband to 'drop the gun'
With guns drawn, Daytona Beach police officers were seen on body camera video yelling for shooting suspect Ellen Gilland to drop her gun. Police responded to the AdventHealth hospital after the 76-year-old woman reportedly shot and killed her terminally ill husband, 77-year-old Jerry Gilland, and had confined herself to his hospital room for hours. (Video courtesy of Daytona Beach Police Department)
It’s not a case you see every day, but attorney Bert Barclay with the O’Mara Law Group said his law firm has dealt with a similar case in the past.
Barclay explained, "It seems like particularly in light of the agreement that they had, that this would be classified as a premeditated first-degree murder which… there really aren’t any more cases serious than this in the state of Florida."
However, Barclay said there is always a possibility that a bond could be ordered after a hearing.
"I would sincerely hope that her counsel would begin to put together everything and anything about the history of this woman to be able to show the state attorney’s office and present evidence to the state attorney's office that compassion, in this case, cannot be ignored," Barclay added.
Gilland is being held in the Volusia County Jail.